Jeffrey Karp of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US, says nature has countless solutions for scientists because any species of plant or animal that survives has evolved to solve problems.
Celebrating children's books and more. Book illustrations, vintage books, insights into the life of a book dealer, Vintage collectables.
It is easy to dismiss the garden of Adrian Bloom as having no relevance for us normal American gardeners. First, the garden is in England, where, as everyone knows, the […]
Another concept taught in Michelle Winner's Social Thinking curriculum involves being a "Just Me" (borrowed from an old Munro Leaf book) versus a "Thinking of Others" type of person. "Just Me" behavior revolves around only thinking of yourself and what you want. "Just Me" behaviors include always wanting to be first, always wanting to play what you suggest instead of anything others might want to play, always wanting to be the winner in the games, only talking about topics of interest to you, not sharing, etc.Whereas "Thinking of Others" involves the opposite behaviors because you realize that others have feelings and desires too. Relationships are "give and take", not "take and receive". These lessons involve teaching children the art of compromise and learning to think, act, play as part of a group. This seemingly simple lesson is not-so-simple to learn. I have had the experiences of completing this lesson, introducing a game, and being immediately met with "I will go first" or "I want to be the blue piece"... (sigh). Here are some links on activities or video clips that might be useful in teaching this idea. I provide Youtube clip links to illustrate the ideas but as always (disclaimer) I suggest people purchase the actual videos of the movies referenced (you probably already own many of them) for actual use of the materials. Another SLP and blogger, SpeechTechie, has made an excellent suggestion to subscribe to Netflix for access to materials. * As usual, check back periodically since I add newfound ideas into the old posts to keep things more organized and concise (so I can find them again when I need to use them). Being a "Just Me" "Mine" Seagulls scene from Nemo. I did not link to it but there is one clip that loops this soundtrack repeatedly for 10 minutes... that should convey the annoyance of this behavior effectively! Cooperative games Youth Group games From Cindy Meester's Blog Noodles - http://meesterc.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/noodle-activity-cm.pdf Maze Directions - http://meesterc.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/cooperation-maze-directions.pdf Maze - http://meesterc.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/cooperation-maze.pdf Teamwork Linj Musical (comical) example Penguins and Whale Pilobolus Teamwork video with stills and captions Crabs vs. Seagull (Also see Ants & Fireflies) Coke commercial: Bugs help each other steal the Coke
UPDATE! ... A tiger, a live tiger on the sidelines with Shug and the boys,
I've been doing this series of posts about words that English borrowed from other languages and today I'm going to focus on my native language: Portuguese. Read: 10 words that English borrowed from Spanish Read: 10 words that English borrowed from French Read: 10 words that English borrowed from Japanese I have to confess that it was hard coming up with a list of ten words because the ones I rememberd came from Latin via Portuguese so I didn't want to include those. Anyway, here we go: 1. PIRANHA I guess you know what it means: it's a small flesh-eating fish. The word comes from Tupi, which is the language originally spoken in Brazil before it was colonized by the Portuguese. What you probably didn't know is that "piranha" is also a Brazilian Portuguese curse word. 2. JAGUAR Another word that comes from Tupi via Portuguese. So, whether you're talking about the animal, the car or the OS, you're speaking a bit of Portuguese! 3. ZEBRA Don't worry, my list doesn't only have animal names, but I couldn't leave out "zebra". In Brazilian Portuguese, "zebra" might also refer to "the underdog" in a competition/game. 4. SAMBA "Samba" refers to both the dance and the music that is so popular in Brazil. It's the music/dance of Carnaval. I have to tell you, though, that I can neither sing nor dance samba. I'd much rather listen to jazz. 5. BOSSA NOVA It's a kind of music originated in Brazil in the 50s. The literal meaning is "new trend", but we rarely use the word for "trend" (bossa) nowadays. If you've never heard of it, check out this YouTube "video". It's just the song and not a video of the singer, but it's got subtitles in English: The singer is João Gilberto and this is one of the most famous bossa nova songs. 6. TAPIOCA If you like tapioca pudding, you should know that "tapioca" is a Brazilian word and dessert. Would you believe that I've never eaten it? If you've got any recipes, let me know! 7. CASHEW The next three words are borrowed from Portuguese, but their spelling has changed on their travel through languages. In Portuguese "cashew" is "caju" and it's my favorite nut. 8. TOUCAN I love how languages work. "Toucan" comes from Tupi via Portuguese via French! Hence, the French spelling instead of the Portuguese one: tucano. The toucan is also the symbol for one of the most important political parties in Brazil. 9. TANK "Tank", as in fish tank or fuel tank, comes the Portuguese word "tanque". I have to say that this one surprised me as I was researching for this post as I had never realized where the word had come from! 10. CAIPIRINHA If you've never heard of "caipirinha" and you have never drunk it, stop everything and go check out how to prepare it. It will change your concept of summer drink. This is one of the most popular drinks in Brazil. It's a cocktail made with lime, sugar and "cachaça", a Brazilian liquor distilled from sugarcane. Just be careful, it's super strong, but you won't feel it until you stand up. READ: Teacher-authors around the world: meet Catia from Portugal! Well, there you have it! If you know of any other words borrowed from Portuguese or if you liked reading this post, leave me a comment below (I love comments!).
The history of proximity hinges on the idea of closeness, both physical and metaphorical. English speakers borrowed the word from Middle French, which in turn acquired it from Latin proximitat-,
These snapshots of North Dakota's history will never be forgotten.
I'm back with another installment in my series 10 words that English borrowed from… and the focus today is on German! I don't speak a word in German, except for these words that are used in English. I'm sure my pronunciation is completely off, so it's a good thing that you're reading it and not listening to it! 1. NOODLE I had no idea, before writing this post, that "noodle" derives from a German word! The original word has a slightly different spelling: nudel. When I hear the word, I always think of a Chinese or Japanese dish, but I know that's probably just me :) 2. KAPUT It can also be written with a double "t" as in German. The German word actually derives from the French word "capot" so, maybe, this should be listed under 10 words that English borrowed from French? If you don't know what it means, it is "no longer working", "broken". 3. ZEITGEIST The general spirit of an era as in "the new movie really captured the 'zeitgeist' of the 60s". 4. KINDERGARTEN "Kinder" means children and "garten" means, well, "garden" (you didn't see that coming, right?) Here's a video with a brief explanation of how the word found its way into English. 5. HAMBURGER The name of one of the most famous American sandwiches derives from the name of the city of Hamburg in Germany. 6. POODLE, ROTTWEILER, SCHNAUZER If you love dogs, you'll know that these words refer to dog breeds. I had never realized until now that they are all words that come from German. Poodle: it derives from "Pudel", which is short for "Pudelhund". Rottweiler: there is a city in Germany called Rottweil. Schauzer: it derives from "Schnauze", which means snout. 7. ÜBER This word meaning "over, beyond" has been adopted as a prefix in English as in übermodel, überfamous, übercool, and so on. Let me ask you something: are you übertired of hearing people using the prefix "über"? 8. WANDERLUST I love this word, but I don't know if I like it for how it sounds or for what it means. All I can say is that from time to time I'm taken by wanderlust and I wish I could succumb to this strong desire to travel. This word is also an example of how similar English is to German in some occasions. 9. POLTERGEIST Raise your hand if you learned the meaning of this word by watching the 80s movie! In German, "poltern" means "to knock" and "Geist" means "spirit" (as in #3 zeitgeist). And I couldn't resist embedding the original movie trailer from 1982: 10. DOPPELGÄNGER As we're approaching Halloween, I thought I'd finish the list with "Poltergeist" and "Doppelgänger" as I believe you can have students working with these two words to generate many scary stories. "Doppelgänger" refers to a double. It can either be a ghostly one or not, but it usually is the cause of much fear and angst. So, tell me, did you know all of these words? Are there any German words commonly used in English that I should have included? Thanks for reading! Read: 10 words that English borrowed from Japanese Read: 10 words that English borrowed from Spanish Read: 10 words that English borrowed from French Read: 10 words that English borrowed from Portuguese Read: Teacher-authors around the world
As someone who adores being called (and thinks of themselves as) a girly-girl, I've not spent a lot of time throughout my life in outfits that would generally be described as having a tomboy or menswear vibe to them. I've always thought there was something blessedly special about being a girl, and I relish the fact that I can wear clothes that help to highlight my womanly curves (of which I've got plenty to go around) and extremely feminine nature. Androgynous styles or modern male fashions rarely (save perhaps for ties and bowties - both of which can make excellent headbands) appeal to me, even though I do think they sometimes look stellar on other women (especially those with willowy figures). When we inject mid-twentieth century fashion into the picture however, that's something of a whole 'nother ballgame. It's not so much that I wear vintage styles with a distinctly masculine vibe to them, but rather, the idea of doing so doesn't put me off in the way that modern menswear inspired looks sometimes do. Assuming a yesteryear lass was sporting the typical hairstyle and make-up of the time (most 40s and 50s looks being so inherently feminine thanks to elements like curls and red lips), you could pretty much have dressed her up in a potato sack and she'd still look more feminine and beautiful than a good many modern day women in off-the-moment-trendy high street and designer fashions alike. Not of course, that every woman needs to look overtly feminine to be fashionable. Each of us has the right to dress and look a much like our gender (or the other) as we'd like. I merely mean that because dressing in styles, colours and garments that are typically perceived being highly womanly are important to me, I'm more drawn to a period in time when even ladies in tomboy, menswear, or highly casual looks retained a sense of femininity to their appearance. It can be fun however, to venture outside of one's usual clothing comfort zone, sneak over to the other side of the closet (or department store) and take a style guy cue from the fellows. A point which was certainly not lost on the following group of 1940s and 50s gals. {A teenage girl relaxes - cigarette in hand - in an oversized men's plaid shirt and pair of cuffed jeans.} {Love the collection of 1940s stuffed animals that are residing on this high school student's bed as she does her homework.} {In a scene that's nearly as old as the telephone itself, a teen chats away to a friend while wearing a loose fitting sweater, jeans and loafers.} {Two gals in cute hairstyles and fun causal wear cut a rug surrounded by their friends who are enjoying cokes and a bite to eat.} {While I've never been the sort who could do so (concentration = silence in my books), this lovely 40s girl seems to have to trouble listening to the radio while doing her homework.} {Proving that you can raid the boy's dresser any time of the day or night, this lass sports a pair of men's pajamas in addition to her adorable rag curls.} {It's short tweed pants - and short hair - for this teen as she voraciously bites into a large sandwich.} {Saddle shoes, blue jeans, and ribbed white bobby socks - rarely doesn't it get more 1950s causal meets boy's wear inspired than this iconic look.} {Three 1940s teens relax outside their school in a wardrobe of jeans, baggy sweaters, and an oversized button front shirt for the friend in the centre.} {Though - based on the footwear in the hanging shoe storage bag - I think she's standing in her own closet, I highly suspect that this young woman snuck over to her brother or father's to borrow that man's shirt - and possibly even those glen plaid trousers!} {All images above are from the online Life magazine achieve. To learn more about a specific photo, please click on it to be taken to its respective page.} ♥ ♥ ♥ While masculine looks can easily drain some of the overt appearance of femininity from a lady, at times they can also - almost paradoxically - heighten a girl's appearance and make her seem overtly womanly - as though her feminine side is going into overdrive to compensate for the mannish threads she's sporting. There's no denying the practicality that menswear and ultra casual styles posses. For various sports, outdoor activities (camping, hiking, etc), and DIY chores around the house and yard (such as mowing the lawn or painting the fence) - not to mention the driving part of long road trips - they can be both practical and appealing. They can as well, be rather cute (especially if you seek a girly detail or two into the picture, such as pink and white saddle shoes with cuffed vintage jeans) and very often convey a sense of youthful vitality. Depending on your own personal style, there may be other times, too, when you want to toe the line between the genders with your fashions, and that's totally cool. Style after all, is what you make of it - not what it makes of you - so if looks like those in the vintage photos today are calling your name, by all means go for it! There's inspiration a plenty to be found from 1940s and 50s lasses who - rather brazenly at the time - dared to borrow from the boys and let a casual vibe shine through (at least part of) their wardrobe.
It’s time for July's Designer Showcase! Once a month I have one of my favorite designers share a bit about themselves, and then I follow it up by sharing my 5 favorite free patterns that they’ve designed! This month I’m super excited to have Kathy Lashley, the elegant, talented, and wonderful designer and blogger at ELK Studio - Handcrafted Crochet Designs! Kathy is known for her classic, elegant, and slightly southern designs! Her patterns are always lovely, and her hats are breathtaking! Here's what she has to say! Hi everyone! It was such an honor when Tamara asked me to share a little about
Few creative things today are truly new — it's the work that builds on, pushes forward and continues to invent that gets noticed.
The most magnificent staircase at the Musée Gustave Moreau in Paris . . . isn’t it just splendid? (image by beBO, via here)
Check out this collection of modern hideaways and secret forts for kids!
Learn how to do a dysarthria assessment. With step-by-step guides, norms, suggested templates, and more!
Spirituality does not come from religion
There's no denying that parenting can be a tough job.But these mothers and fathers have shown they can maintain their sense of humour - and possibly be even more juvenile - than their children.
The question is less whether a dress or an idea is borrowed, than the uses to which it’s then put.
